Container consisting of a crate box with detachable walls



J. SCHOLTEN March 6, 1962 CONTAINER coNsTsTTNG oF A CRATE Box WITH DETACHABLE wALLs Filed sept. 5o, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGB NVENTOR JA N SCHOLTEN AGENT March 6, 1962 J. scHoLTEN 3,023,890

CONTAINER CONSISTING OF A CRATE BOX WITH DETACHABLE WALLS Filed Sept. 30. 1957 4 Sheets-Sheefl 2 INVENTOR JAN SCHOLTN BY d AGENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 L NVENTOR JAN SCHOLTEN AGENT J. SCHOLTEN FIG FIG.7

FIG. 8

CONTAINER CONSISTING OF' A C RATE BOX WITH DETACHABLE WALLS March 6, 1962 Filed sept. zo, 1957 March 6, 1962 1. SCHOLTEN 3,023,890

CONTAINER CONSISTING OF A CRATE BOX WITH DETACHABLE WALLS Filed Sept. 30, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.9

INVENTOR JA N 5CH OLTEN AGENT 3,023,890 CONTAENER CONSISTING OF A CRATE BOX WITH DETACHABLE WALLS Jan Scholten, Eindhoven, Netherlands, assignor to North American Philips Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a

corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 30, 1957, Ser. No. 687,274 Claims priority, application Netherlands Oct. 3, 1956 3 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) A container is known which consists of a crate box with detachable walls made up of stacked elements which are detachably connected together by means forming part of these elements. Such a container has an advantage over known containers having walls made in one piece in that the height of the walls is variable at will by using for these walls a greater or smaller number of the elements concerned. Such a container is, however, mainly suitable only for transporting loose goods, unless the goods inside the container are each individually packaged and the container is consequently filled with packaged articles.

The present invention has for its object to improve t-his known container so that, as a result of a particular shaping of its walls, the articles may be kept separated from one another without it being necessary to package the articles each individually. As a result, the container according to the invention is particularly suited to transporting breakable similar articles such as, for example glass cones or screens for bulbs of cathode-ray tubes.

The container of the aforesaid type according to the invention has the -feature that, in conjunction with the method of packing and/ or the shape of the elements the crate box has bearing faces or supporting ledges at different levels extending substantially parallel to its surface. The articles to be packaged in the container may each individually be placed on these bearing faces and as a result of forming the walls of loose elements these will separate the articles from one another.

In an advantageous form of the container according to the invention, the elements constituting several walls of a space inside the container are stacked at, while the elements forming the other walls of said space are stacked high so that adjacent surfaces of contiguous at-stacked elements are spaced apart from one another.

In a further form the preferably uniform elements of several walls of a space inside the container are partially stacked at and partially stacked high so that one or more high-stacked elements are situated between each two flatstacked elements.

Although the elements forming the walls of the container may have a shape closed in itself, for example a ring-shape, it is, in general, preferable to use elements consisting of straight parts, for example Wooden beams or laths. In one form of the invention, adjacent elements are secured together by letting them partially or entirely into one another.

It is possible for the container according to the invention to be constructed so that, as is customary, it has only one space in a transverse direction. In a further embodiment of the invention, however, the container may have more than one space in a transverse direction, exactly as a result of using said elements for forming the container, the elements then defining more than one space.

In order that the invention may be readily carried into effect, it will now be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of the elements used for building up the containers shown in FIGS. 3 to 8.

FIGS. 3 to 5 show in two lateral views and in plan view respectively one form of the container according to the States Patent O ICC invention for packaging substantially conical glass articles, for example cones for cathode-ray tubes.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show in two lateral views and in plan view respectively one form of the container according to the invention intended for packaging glass screens for cathode-ray tubes.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the construction and illust-rates the method of stacking the parts of the elements together constituting a corner joint for the container shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the elements A and B consist of wooden laths or `boardlike elements which are locally recessed. In connection with the rectangular form of the articles to be packaged, the slots of the element A are more widely spaced apart than those of the element B. The slots are so shaped as to permit the element A to be partly let into the element B. This yields an extremely sturdy connection between the elements A and B if, for example, the slots 1 and 2 engage each other. As shown for the element A the slots 2, may if desired, be provided with chamfered edges in order to facilitate the assemblage.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the elements A and B are both shown on edge. In a container thus assembled with vertically stacked elements A and B, assuming the `dept-h of the slots and the height of the elements A and B to be proportioned for this purpose, definite space invariably remains between the opposing sides of the elements of a pair of walls facing each other.

From FIGS. l and 2 it is `further seen that each of the elements A and B has 3 sets of slots so that, using the elements shown in these figures, a container is constructed, which comprises four separated spaces at right angles to the direction of height. Experiments have shown that the lowermost elements can be placed directly on the upper surface of the crate box S shown in FIGS. 3 to 8, the weight of the load inside the container preventing the walls from sliding laterally from the crate box. I-f desired, the lowermost elements may be xedly secured to the crate box. for example by providing suitable recesses in the surface of the lcrate box or by secu-ring a few chocks or laths thereto.

By means of the elements A and B `shown in FIGS. l and 2 a further wall form of the container is obtainable, for example by stacking the elements A flat and the elements B high (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5). The Hat-stacked elements are designated by A, the high-stacked elements by B. As is shown particularly in FIGS. 3 and 5, the elements A provide rests on each pair of which one of the articles is supported in the container. lSuch an article is denoted by C, in this case a glass cone for a cathode-ray tube, which cone is naturally breakable. After the container has been built up as shown in FIG. 3, a next cone may be placed on the faces of flat-stacked elements A10 and A11 facing each other, which cone comes to rest on surfaces A., and A5 at two opposed edges. When introducing the next elements A (not shown) ilat into the slots 12 and 13, the lower edge of these elements, which edge faces the article referred to, will practically rest against the outer side of the article. This is shown for the cone C where the lower edges of the elements A10 and A11 extend short of the surface of the cone C. It is evident that in this manner the cone C is no longer movable in horizontal direction in the plane of FIG. 3. Motion in vertitical direction is also extremely limited. The relative spacing of the elements B is so chosen as to substantially preclude lateral displacement also in horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 4.

This provides a container for breakable articles, which not only has the advantage of its height being adjustable according to convenience within wide limits, but also, as has been found experimentally, has the advantage that the articles may be introduced unpackaged into the container and can thus be shipped without risk of fracture. In general, a continuous plate will be provided on top of the highest elements, the container thus obtained, which may be braced lby means of a few iron strips passing under the crate box S, being ready -for transport.

When the container is unloaded, the elements are detached and, when the empty container is returned, the elements tied up into a bundle may be Areturned together with the crate box.

In the forms shown in FIGS. `6, 7 and 8, the elements B shown in FIG. 2 are all stacked vertically, but the elements A are alternately stacked at and high. This is particularly shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, where the flat-stacked elements are designated by D and the corresponding highstacked elements are denoted by E. The space 6 thus formed between each two superposed layers of the element D is closed on all its four sides, that is to say by the vertically stacked elements B and the vertically stacked elements E. The upper surfaces of the elements D again serve as rests. This container is particularly suited to packaging glass screens for cathode-ray tubes, a few of which are denoted by -F in the drawing. The articles F have extremely little freedom of movement in their cornpartments so that they can also be shipped unpackaged in the container.

In order to explain the corner of the container shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, parts of the stacked elements forming part of this corner joint are perspectively shown in FIG. 9, from which it is seen that a suitable choice of the size of the slots and the elements themselves yields a joint which is extremely sturdy and permits the compartments of the container to be formed. If the slots have a suitable size and the material has a suitable thickness, the elements D and E on the one hand and the elements B on the other hand may all be used in any desired position relative to one another. Should, however, the part 17 left between the slots 15 and 16 of the elements D not have a square cross-sectional area, the slots 18 and 19 of the elements B must have widths dierent from each other. Y

What is claimed is:

1. A p ackage of crated articles comprising lath means, a plurality of similarly dimensioned articles positioned within said package, and having at least a first and second horizontal dimension, said lath means comprising a plurality of at least first and second lath means having inter-fitting notches, said first lath means being arranged in vertical planes in spaced parallel relation, said second lath means being arranged in spaced parallel relation with respect to one another and transversely with respect to said rst lath means, and interlocking therewith, certain ones of said second lath means being arranged in horizontal planes forming ledges and certain others of said second lath means being arranged in vertical planes to provide vertical spacing means between said ledges, said articles resting on said ledges between said last named vertical laths.

2. A package of crated articles comprising lath means, a plurality of similarly dimensioned articles positioned within said package, and having at least a tirst and second horizontal dimension, said lath :means comprising a plurality of at least first and second lath means having intertitting notches, said rst lath means being arranged in vertical planes in spaced parallel relation, said second lath means being arranged in spaced parallel relation with respect to one another and transversely lwith respect to said first lath means and interlocking therewith, certain ones of said second lath means being arranged in horizontal planes forming ledges and certain others of said second lath means being arranged in vertical planes to provide vertical spacing means between said ledges, said articles resting on said ledges between said last named vertical laths in superposed relation.

3. A package of crated articles comprising lath means, a plurality of similarly dimensioned articles positioned within said package, and having at least a irst and second horizontal dimension, saidlath means comprising a plurality of at least -rst and second lath means having interlitting notches, said lirst lath means being arranged in vertical planes in spaced parallel relation, said second lath means being arranged in spaced parallel relation with respect to one another and transversely with respect to said `first lath means, and interlocking therewith, certain ones of said second lath means being arranged in horizontal planes -forming ledges and certain others of said second lath means being arranged in vertical planes to provide vertical spacing means between said ledges, the height of said certain ones of said second lath means being proportional to the height of the articles, said articles resting on said ledges between said last named vertical laths in spaced stacked relation.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 234,141 Page Nov. 9, 1880 564,357 Ams July 21, 1896 573,718 Stratton Dec. 22, 1896 796,500 Clark Aug. 8, 1905 1,882,048 Warren Oct. 1l, 1932 2,110,990 Forves Mar. 15, 1938 2,591,0'49 Butsch Apr. l, 1952 2,712,199 Latimer July 5, 1955 

